Zelensky, Volodymyr

The Role of Art in a Time of War

KYIV, Ukraine — You do not have to go far outside of Kyiv to see how the massacre of civilians and the trampling of culture still come one after the other. In Borodianka, a nucleus of Russian atrocities about 45 minutes north of here — the drive is slower now that the bridges have been […]

The Man in the Olive Green Tee

In the beginning, it was just a T-shirt: basic, olive green; the kind worn under military fatigues or hauled out from the bottom of a wardrobe for workouts and weekends. Sometimes it was more brown than green. Sometimes there was a cross over the heart, with a coat of arms in the center. But over […]

For the U.S., a Tenuous Balance in Confronting Russia

WASHINGTON — In the first weeks of the first major European land war of the 21st century, the United States has sent tank-killing weapons to Ukrainian forces, but not fighter jets. It is equipping embattled Ukrainian troops with lightweight “kamikaze” attack drones, but not, at least in an obvious way, conducting an aggressive cyberwar to […]

In Kyiv, a Soldier’s Funeral and Vows of Defiance

KYIV, Ukraine — At a cemetery lined by fir trees in central Kyiv, mourners paid their final respects on Tuesday to Capt. Anton Sidorov, who was arrayed in his army fatigues in a casket. “Glory to Ukraine!” said one of Mr. Sidorov’s comrades. “Glory to the heroes!” came the solemn response from the group of […]

Ukraine Enclaves Long Steeped in Conflict Face New Peril

SEVERODONETSK, Ukraine — For days, Viktoria Gudyatskaya listened nervously as the escalating fighting along the front lines in eastern Ukraine approached her home in the town of Novoaidar. The thrumming booms of shelling became so insistent that on Tuesday Ms. Gudyatskaya decided to take her teenage daughter and flee. “We can hear it now through […]

Wooing Allies, Publicizing Putin’s Plans: Inside Biden’s Race to Prevent War

The Dec. 3 document became the first of a series of efforts to declassify intelligence about Russian plans by the United States and Britain, which would come to include details of a Russian sabotage campaign, a coup plot, an elaborate effort to use a faked video to create a pretext for invasion and other false […]

Russia May Be Seeking Pretext for Ukraine Invasion, Officials Say

KYIV, Ukraine — Russian military exercises on Ukraine’s border were extended indefinitely on Sunday, leaving an unrelenting threat hanging over a vastly outgunned Ukrainian military and jittery population after a weekend of shelling and evacuations that American and Ukrainian officials warned was an effort by Moscow to create a pretext for an invasion. The defense […]

Armed Nationalists in Ukraine Pose a Threat Not Just to Russia

KYIV, Ukraine — The Ukrainian political activist and militia member sat before his party’s flag leaving little doubt about his readiness for action. The flag depicted two axes crossed against a field of red. Yes, Yuri Hudymenko said, he is ready to take up arms, but not necessarily against Russia. As the leader of Democratic […]

As Russian Troops Mass in Belarus, a Ukraine Border Is Largely Undefended

NOVI YARYLOVYCHI BORDER CROSSING, Ukraine — On the other side of this border in northern Ukraine, not visible through the thick pine and birch forests that crowd the E-95 highway but noticeable to passing truckers, a force is gathering in Belarus more potent than anything seen in the country since the fall of the Soviet […]